ASX set to rise with Wall Street on track to end losing streak

Stocks rose in early-afternoon trading on Wall Street, but remain lower for the week after five straight losses.

The S&P 500 is 0.6 per cent higher while the Dow Jones has added 0.5 per cent and the Nasdaq is up 1 per cent. The Australian sharemarket is set for a positive start, with futures at 5.02am AEDT pointing to a rise of 29 points, or 0.4 per cent, at the open. The ASX lost 0.8 per cent on Thursday.

Technology and health care companies had some of the biggest gains on Wall Street. Apple is up 1 per cent and Pfizer has added and Pfizer rose 2.2 per cent.

US crude oil prices edged 0.7 per cent higher after bouncing around earlier in the day. They hit their lowest point of the year a day earlier.

Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which helps set mortgage rates, rose to 3.47 per cent from 3.42 per cent late Wednesday.

Markets in Europe were mostly lower and markets in Asia were mixed.

The US reported slightly more Americans filed for jobless claims last week, but not as many as economists had forecast. The labor market remains one of the strongest pockets of the economy, which has been stifled under the weight of stubbornly hot inflation and rising interest rates.

Low unemployment is good for the broader economy but makes it more difficult for the Federal Reserve to tame inflation. The central bank has been raising interest rates to curb borrowing and spending in order to cool the hottest inflation in decades. Its benchmark interest rate sits at 3.75 per cent to 4 per cent, the highest in 15 years.